Facebook Pages Aren’t Replacements For Websites

Your small business needs a strong, professional online presence to promote and represent itself. Social media platforms, like Facebook, help businesses create that presence. However, relying on a Facebook page for your entire online presence can be a big mistake. Here’s why a Facebook page isn’t a good business website, and how you can promote your business online instead.

1. First of all: This isn’t yours.

You don’t actually own the Facebook page you use as your business website, which is a big drawback. Facebook owns it, so they can change it, remove it, or make it hard to find in search results. Especially if you’ve spent a lot of time and effort building up your Facebook presence, this lack of control can be frustrating. However, your website is 100% yours and is positioned to become a valuable asset as it drives traffic to your brand.

2. People who don’t have Facebook are eliminated from your target audience.

Facebook has over two billion users, but there are still plenty of people who don’t use it, especially young and old. If you rely solely on a Facebook page, you risk losing these customers. You should consider all potential channels for reaching your audience, because some of your target audience might not be active on Facebook.

3. You have limited options when it comes to SEO.

SEO, or search engine optimization, improves a website’s ranking in search engines. While it’s possible to optimize a Facebook page to an extent, you are limited in the keywords you can target and the content you can post. Additionally, a Facebook page will only appear once in search results, whereas a website with multiple pages can appear multiple times. This can make it harder for potential customers to find your business online.

4. Ads might be necessary to in order to get noticed.

To make money, Facebook uses a “freemium” model. You can post on Facebook pages free, but the reach isn’t great. If you want more people to see your posts, you might have to pay for ads. While this may not be a big cost for some businesses, it’s important to include it in your marketing budget.

5. It’s limited in functionality.

You can update your Facebook page, upload photos, and use Facebook Messenger to chat with customers. On the other hand, Facebook pages are quite limited compared to websites. Forms, e-commerce, and custom pages and posts with a broader range of formatting options are all possible on a website. Furthermore, you can build a network group similar to a Facebook group very easily on your website, accessible by a membership plug-in.

6. You don’t have a sales funnel.

In a sales funnel, potential customers go through a series of steps to make a purchase. Call-to-actions, landing pages, and other tactics can guide users through the sales process on a website. Facebook pages don’t give you the same level of control, so you can’t guide users to buy anything.

7. There’s not much content.

While you can write an “About Us” section and post updates on Facebook, there aren’t many places to post in-depth content that can draw in users and boost your search engine ranking. In contrast, a website lets you create blog posts, articles, and other types of content that can help you get customers.

8. Pages cannot be branded.

The only thing you can do on a Facebook page is add a cover image and upload a profile picture. In contrast, you can customize a website’s color scheme, fonts, and design elements to make it look cohesive and professional.

9. Finding content is hard.

A website lets you save, organize, and search pages and posts. This makes it easy to find old stuff. There’s no way to export your Facebook content, and you can’t save or organize content on a Facebook page. As a result, it’s hard to find and refer back to older posts for you and your customers.

10. There is a lack of analytics and data.

The analytics and data available on a Facebook page aren’t as comprehensive as those on a website. The Facebook analytics aren’t as detailed or customizable as those available on websites, but they do provide some information on your posts’ reach and engagement. Making data-driven decisions about your business is harder when you cannot track the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

Final points:

It is important to use a Facebook business page in conjunction with a website, not as a replacement.

Your business needs a professional website in addition to a Facebook page if you want to grow online. With a website, you can promote your brand, display your products, build a sales funnel, and track your marketing efforts. Using a Facebook page as your primary online presence may seem easier and cheaper, but the limitations of a Facebook page make it a poor choice in the end.

Our web design firm can help! Regardless of your business size, we can create a professional, affordable website for you. With the help of our experienced designers and developers, we will create a website that perfectly reflects your brand and meets your business goals. Additionally, you can promote your website on your Facebook page once it’s up and running to drive traffic.

Your online presence shouldn’t be limited. Invest in a professional website and grow your business. To learn more about how we can help your business succeed online, contact us today.